Honey Boy
Starring: Noah Jupe, Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges
Directed By: Alma Har’el
Rated: R
Shia LaBeouf has been a part of the Hollywood scene for a long time, for better or worse. When I was a kid, I would watch Even Stevens every night to see what wacky situations Louis Stevens had gotten himself into on the latest episode. LaBeouf’s comedic talent shined as a young 13-year-old through each episode of the show. Then, the cinematic masterpiece Holes was released. Don’t even get me started. I’m pretty confident that I watched that movie every day one summer. As he moved on to bigger franchises (Transformers) and approached movie star status, the Disney image began to fade quickly. With the progression of his career, Shia was arrested multiple times, involved in bizarre performance art exhibits, and eventually entered into court-mandated rehab. While in rehab, LaBeouf wrote the script for Honey Boy, an account of his childhood as a young actor living with his abusive father. He may have been playing the lighthearted and joyful Louis Stevens in front of the camera, but behind the scenes, LaBeouf was living a tragic reality.
Alma Har’ el directs honey Boy. There is a hazy style to the film as it’s told through a non-linear narrative structure going back and forth through different timelines in Shia LaBeouf’s life. The narrative wanders through timelines like a lost soul attempting to find peace. Beginning in 2005, Honey Boy depicts the life of an actor named Otis (Lucas Hedges) on the set of an action movie by day and living wildly by night. He drinks to excess and eventually rolls over his car in a brutal accident. After the accident, Otis is sent to rehab, where he is diagnosed with PTSD. To cope with his trauma, he is encouraged to write about his memories as a young boy (Noah Jupe) living with his abusive father, James Lort (Shia LaBeouf).
The process of writing this film seems to be a huge step for Shia LaBeouf. Some moments feel almost too personal to watch as the film recounts his traumatic childhood. Yet, it appears to be a cathartic exercise in emotional healing. It’s a deeply meta film considering LeBeouf wrote the screenplay about his life and stars in it as his father. The screenplay depicts the horror and anguish of generational abuse through the experiences of Otis and James. LaBeouf puts the focus on the trials of young Otis attempting to keep his unhinged father calm. We grow to hate James and the way he treats his son, but in one Alcoholics Anonymous scene, LaBeouf challenges the audience to see the humanity in James. This is not a black and white situation. He is a man who suffered his own share of abuse then turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. At some point, the cycle has to end, or it will go on wreaking havoc on generations to come.
Noah Jupe broke my heart in Honey Boy. Between this and Ford v Ferrari, Jupe has proved himself to be a star this year. It’s eerie how well he portrays a young LaBeouf. Several sequences look precisely like the set of Even Stevens. Jupe captures the comedic timing that audiences were used to seeing each week in LaBeouf’s portrayal as Louis Stevens. What America wasn’t familiar with was his painful relationship with his father. Otis acts as the parent in the dysfunctional environment, providing a steady income for the two to live on, making sure they have food on the table. It’s so sad to see a 12-year-old have to be the more mature one in the parent/child relationship. Otis tries to keep the peace, knowing it doesn’t take much for his father to fly off the handle. He’s just a kid who wants a good dad. Something that struck me in the film is the way it opens with Otis on a film set hanging from a cable while doing stunt work. He’s violently pulled backward in just a second. A few scenes later, it flashes back to 10-years earlier when Otis is in the same position, on the set of Even Stevens. Both scenes feel symbolic of LaBeouf being forever tethered to his PTSD-riddled childhood, constantly pulled back to the traumatic memories. He’s powerless to stop the blunt force. His inability to cope with the pain makes the emotions unbearable to confront.
Shia LaBeouf turns in his most personal performance to date as James Lort; the retired rodeo clown turned stage parent. James is a former Vietnam War Veteran who turns to drugs and alcohol to cope with his past trauma. He tries to remain sober but takes out his pain on his son through manipulation and abuse. He can’t bear the fact that his son reaps attention from the world while he lingers in the shadows. The scenes between James and Otis are the backbone of the film. You never know what will happen between them. One moment, James is coaching Otis through his lines, and the next, he’s verbally or physically abusing him. LaBeouf is just walking rage, emotion, and trauma in this role, ready to tackle all of his past issues through the cathartic process of portraying his father. Every scene between LaBeouf and Noah Jupe is an acting showcase, with both of them giving their all to the scene, slowly breaking your heart in the process. Oscar consideration should be happening for both actors, but the Academy doesn’t listen to me. So who knows what will happen?
One aspect of the film that doesn’t click for me is Lucas Hedges as adult Shia. Hedges is a good actor in films like Manchester By The Sea and Lady Bird, but he doesn’t look or sound anything like LaBeouf. Nor does he look like Noah Jupe, who is supposed to be his younger self. It’s just an odd casting choice. Not to mention, his segment of the film is a bit shaky in terms of editing and cohesion. If they had just cast a different actor and expanded on those scenes a bit more, I think it would’ve made a difference.
Honey Boy is an honest and raw portrait of a painful childhood caught in a state of turmoil. This is like watching a form of cinematic therapy. Shia LaBeouf and Noah Jupe give awards-worthy performances in this heartbreaking tale of a childhood lost.
My Rating: 8/10